Quote:
Originally Posted by clyde
A learning experience. More later...
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I started writing something about this past weekend and our first Pro Solo in the car, but by the time I hit 1,600 words, it didn't even feel half done, so, I'm going to try again... It's still not short, but...
Found out at practice starts on Friday that the drive by wire programming is super annoying as all fuck. If you roll into throttle, RPM won't go over 2k...until it does and becomes impossible to modulate between rev hang and sensistively unpredicatable throttle response. Texted with guy that knows what he's doing in the car and he basically told me "if you figure it out let me know" and told me he constantly blips to try to keeps RPM constant and hopes boost will be up at launch.
Saturday, in grid before starting, I played with the gas a lot. Learned that punching throttle will get RPM up quickly and then allows controlable modulation at the RPM where I wanted to launch. Nowhere near as good as a mechanical system, but it's workable.
We cut 2.0 and 2.1 second 60 foot lights all competition long. On asphalt. Slightly uphill. For reference, a well driven FoST in my class (yes, the 2.0T Camaro and FoST are in the same Pro Solo class, but with different modifiers for calculator racing) was cutting 2.3-2.4 60 foot times on the left and 2.2-2.3 times on the right course. Biggins was inconsistently cutting 2.4ish times on both courses in his twin (same class and modifier as the Camaro). JV's car was cutting 2.0s and 2.1s (with a single 1.9) when it wasn't breaking differentials (again). To be blunt, we were amazed at how well the car launched once we figured it out.
On course, the car is big and have to account for it without over compensating. I didn't think I had much problem, I only hit two cones all weekend, but looking at the little video we got, it looks like I was mostly way off the cones on the driver side. So, that's something to look at. I didn't feel like I had any issues seeing out of it. I adapted to the slower steering to the point I didn't think about it at the time, only realizing that I was moving my hands like I used to (before training myself to keep them at 9 and 3) when I was saw video.
Overall, the car felt good. On Saturday afternoon when temps were a bit warmer (but not really hot), the car got progessively looser as the tires heated. When Kevin took his runs a few minutes after mine, we dropped pressure a couple pounds in back to compensate after his first run and he thought that helped a lot. It was on one of those loose runs that I had my fast time on one course. That run, I thought I overdrove a few parts, went too wide through one turn and was late to the gas in a few places (because I was tentative about the tires). But, damn, the car was fun to drive. It just really, really felt good. Balanced, predictable, and eager to do what was asked. After Saturday afternoon, I was sitting in 4th of 8, just a tad bit out of third. Thinking through my runs and where I might have gained some time, I was pretty sure I was the only reason I wasn't sitting in first. This was the first time at a National event where I wasn't wondering at all about what I could have done to have top time in class. I knew what it was and that felt really good. Of course, you never know how much someone else left out there and whether they can get it, but it still felt good. Meanwhile, Kevin didn't clean up at all and finished Saturday without a clean time on the left side course.
Weather forecast for Sunday had been tricky all week. Went to bed pretty sure that it was going to rain enough overnight and possibly into the morning that Sunday's runs would only be good for learning the car in a wet or damp environment. Woke up to see the parking lot was wet. Car was covered in drops of water. A mile away at the site, there had been no rain. Promising. We unloaded the car and went to walk the courses. Walked the right side and started the left...where it started raining a little. It was done raining by the time we got back to paddock and bagged everything we didn't want to get wet. It was also a good bit cooler Sunday than Saturday. We had no idea how things would go.
The first group of cars (mostly Ladies classes) mostly improved their times a bit, some by a good bit. We were in the second group. I think I was the only driver in the class to not set a quicker time. I would have improved slightly excapt for a cone and managed to drop a spot to Biggins after he clocked a really nice run on one side, dropping a bunch of time.
After I ran, I felt like I just didn't have my head in it. Not that I was driving like it was up my ass. Just, I was out there just going for a ride and not trying to hit marks or follow a plan. Like I wasn't really awake yet. Kevin turned in a clean run on his dirty side and wound up about a tenth and a half (pre-index) behind me on each side.
We really only have video of Sunday. Hopefully, I'll be able to post tonight, but... Our styles are very different. It kind of reminds a bit of JV and me when we were in the RX-8. I was calm and composed and John looked like he was attacking all the time. Kevin's driving is much more violent to the point mine looks almost lackadasical. Yet our overall times are ridiculously similar. Won't be sure about segment times until reviewing vidoe more closely, but I still won't be able to compare my fastest time on one side and only a fast scratch time with a cone on the other.